True Love
by cuz-CM's-awesome
Summary: Sometimes when you least expect it, everything works out better than you ever thought it could.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds and I'm not making any profit off of this story. **

**Written for the Valentine's Day Challenge on CCoAC forum. **

**Prompts Used: A dozen red roses, Candy Hearts and Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Elton John. **

**Summary: Sometimes when you least expect it, everything works out better than you ever thought it could. This is Penelope and Spencer's tale about how they fell in love. **

**Gosh, I know the summary is super mushy, but it is for the Valentine's Day Challenge after all. **

**I think this will be three chapters altogether. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

Penelope sniffled, tears running down her face she snuggled more closely into Spencer.

They were watching the Lion King and Mufasa had just died.

Spencer didn't understand how she could cry when she had already admitted to him that she had practically watched this movie a hundred times.

However he held her closer still, absentmindedly running his fingers gently through the golden strands of her hair.

It still seemed strange to him when he thought about their relationship. They had grown so close in such a short period of time. Only three months ago he would have never thought of having anything but friendship between them but now he could honestly say that he was in love.

Penelope looked up at him with her watery blue eyes and reddened face "I'm sorry, I always get emotional when I watch this scene…it's just not fair."

Spencer leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, ensuring her that she didn't have to be worried or embarrassed about crying on him.

That was just one of the many things he loved about her. That she could still show her emotions and cry over a silly child's movie after everything they saw on a daily basis.

Penelope smiled at him as he pulled away.

"You're the best Spence," she said as she wiped at her wet face with the back of her hand "I'm sure Morgan would have teased me relentlessly if he was here."

Spencer shook his head but smiled at Penelope, he knew Morgan would tease her too, that was just one of his defense mechanisms that he used as a shield most of the time to keep his own feelings hidden.

"Ooh!" Penelope squealed, her attention returning to the movie "Timon and Pumbaa, they're my favorite!"

Spencer chuckled as Penelope started singing along to Hakuna Matata. It figured that the two quirky characters would be her favorites.

Lion King was the third Disney Movie that they had watched in the last two weeks.

It had all started when Spencer had told Penelope over dinner one night that he had never seen Peter Pan, which was the subject they had somehow ended up discussing, or any other children's movie.

Penelope had been shocked, then she had told him that she just couldn't let him go his whole life without enjoying the magic of classic animated kids films, and she vowed to right the situation.

Spencer had made peace with the fact that he hadn't had a normal childhood a long time ago and didn't mind that he hadn't seen any classic childhood movies. But watching them with Penelope seemed to make her happy, so he just went along with it.

A while later Penelope fidgeted in his arms and then grinned up at him mischievously.

Spencer furrowed his brow and was about to ask her what she was thinking when she cleared her throat.

"I can see what's happening?" she began.

"What?" Spencer asked thoroughly confused.

Penelope laughed and Spencer realized that she was copying Timon and that he had just copied Pumbaa's line.

Penelope grinned at him before continuing "…and they don't have a clue. They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line: Our trio's down to two."

He watched in amusement, his brow arching.

Adopting a bad French accent Penelope whispered "The sweet caress of twilight…there's magic everywhere. And with all this romantic atmosphere, disasters in the air."

Penelope wrapped her arms around Spencer's neck and sang out cheerfully "Can you feel the love tonight?" Then with a soft laugh she asked "Can you Spencer?"

"Yes," he whispered before capturing her lips.

Penelope moaned and leaned into the kiss.

With the movie forgotten for the moment they made out. Each gently exploring the others' mouth.

Penelope giggled as she pulled away needing oxygen "We're going to miss the end of the movie if we keep this up."

"I believe that's what they created the pause button for" Spencer said dryly, pulling her back down.

Placing a kiss on his jaw Penelope asked "What? No in depth history on the remote control, its pause button included?"

"Can't right now," Spencer said huskily "you know my multitasking skills are shot when it comes to you Penelope."

He looked deeply into her eyes and whispered "I only have attention for you."

"Oh Spencer!" Penelope murmured as she kissed him "How have you not been snatched up already? That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Spencer's cheeks tinged pink slightly "I'm just speaking the truth" he said.

"Oh I know you are," Penelope said, she knew Spencer always told the truth "and I love you for it."

Spencer beamed; he pulled her close again and kissed her passionately.

Penelope moaned and let herself relax into his arms.

Not wanting to pull away, Spencer blindly groped for the remote control, knowing it was there somewhere.

Penelope smiled against his lips before pulling away.

Spencer let out a frustrated groan.

Penelope chuckled, she couldn't help it, Spencer looked so cute sitting there all flustered and pouty.

Penelope rose, grabbing the remote off the coffee table and hitting pause. She turned off the TV and then turned around and offered a hand out to Spencer.

He took it gladly and she led him to the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

Spencer sat at the table in the break room, stirring his coffee and staring at the wall.

He had been the first to arrive at the office and was there pretty early because he had dropped Penelope off at her annual checkup. She had told him not to wait for her since her doctor's office was only a few blocks away from the BAU and she didn't want him to be late too.

Normally when he had free time at work, he would hang out in her office and today he really wished she was there as he could have used the distraction.

He had nothing to do, but he had all the time to think about later that evening.

It was Valentine's Day and a big day for him.

He couldn't help but be nervous.

His attention was captured by the doors to the bullpen opening and JJ, a determined look on her face, walking to Hotch's office.

Watching JJ, Spencer thought back to three months ago when his relationship with Penelope had become more than just friendship.

_Spencer placed his keys down on the counter of his empty apartment. _

_He let out a sigh, running his hands through his messy hair he felt the familiar prickle of tears behind his eyes. _

_He rubbed at his face with the back of his hand and willed himself not to cry again. His blotchy, red face had just about cleared up from the last time. _

_However it was no use, moments later he felt the tears slip down his face as he thought about the last time he had seen Emily. _

_Placing his hands on the counter and hanging his head, he let out a muffled sob. _

_Why hadn't he said anything more to her on the day that she had walked out on them? He had asked her if she was okay and that he noticed that she was biting her nails, something she did when she was stressed. She had dismissed it, said she was good and Spencer had fallen back on the rules about the team not profiling each other. _

_Why hadn't he pushed it? He knew that there was something bothering her, it was impossible to be a profiler and not know from the way she had been behaving, but he had still just let her go. _

_And now she was dead. _

_Spencer looked up and his eyes moved around his dark and quiet home. _

_He couldn't stay there. Not while he was feeling the way he was. He felt like screaming, or breaking into a rage and destroying everything he owned. _

_But mostly he felt like slumping to the floor and crying his eyes out. _

_He didn't want to be alone. _

_He couldn't. _

_So he picked up his keys, left his go bag where it was sitting near the door and made his way to his car. _

_He figured he would go to JJ's; after all she has been his shoulder to cry on at the hospital. _

_But once he stared driving he found himself heading in the opposite direction. He was heading away from JJ's and instead he was headed towards Penelope's. _

_Once he was there he sat in his car outside her apartment for a while, just staring at the light from her windows. _

_He wasn't sure why he had ended up there. She was most likely inside with Morgan, they were each other's rocks in hard situations, and Spencer knew he would feel like a third wheel if he went in there. _

_Still he knew what he needed. _

_Why is subconscious had brought him to Penelope's home. _

_She was the one person who could always make him feel better, even on his worst days. _

_So he decided to chance it. _

_Spencer fidgeted uncomfortably after knocking on her door. _

_There was no answer. _

_He knew she must be home judging from the lights on in her apartment but after knocking harder he decided that if she still didn't answer the door in the next few minutes he would leave. _

_Just when he was thinking about heading back to his car the door swung open. _

_Penelope stood on the other side. Her outfit rumpled and her face blotchy, with her makeup smeared around her eyes. It was obvious that she had made a half assed attempt to fix it before opening the door but she still had the look of an angry raccoon. _

_When she saw him she let out a breath "Oh, Reid, it's you." _

"_Uh yeah…" he answered "listen if you're busy I can go, I just…well I wanted…" Spencer sighed, now that he was there, he didn't know what to say. _

_However Penelope seemed to understand anyway "Oh Honey," she said walking forward, opening her arms and pulling him into a hug "I'd never be too busy for you." _

_Spencer sniffed and wrapped his own arms around her too. _

"_I didn't know where else to go" he whispered. _

"_Hush," Penelope said rubbing his back "you're always welcome here." _

_Spencer felt himself begin to tear up again "I can't believe she's gone." _

"_Me neither" Penelope said, her own voice catching. _

_Spencer's body shook with sobs. _

_Penelope just held him, tears running down her own face. _

_They stood there together outside her door in the chilled night air for a long time; neither could say exactly how long it had been when they broke apart. _

"_You want to come in?" Penelope asked. _

"_I don't want to impose" Spencer answered. _

_Penelope shook her head "Really Reid, I think we both know that we could each really use the company tonight." _

_Spencer couldn't deny her words and he really didn't want to leave anyway, so he gave Penelope a small smile and stepped into her apartment. _

_Penelope motioned to the couch where Spencer was surprised to find an open bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey on the table. _

_Penelope looked ashamed as she sat down beside him "I thought it would help." _

"_Did it?" Spencer asked. _

"_I don't know, before I got a chance to drink some you knocked on the door" she answered, fingering the bottle. "Do you want a glass?" _

_Spencer shook his head "I never drank alcohol before and I don't plan to start now, I'm sure Em…Emily would want to have a few choice words with me if she knew I had started drinking because of her." _

_Penelope sighed before reaching over and screwing the cap back on "You're probably right." _

"_Well I am a genius" Spencer said, trying to lighten the mood. _

_Penelope smiled despite her sadness. _

"_That you are Doctor Reid" she said. _

"_I thought Morgan would have been here?" Spencer stated after a moment, he really had been surprised to find Penelope alone. _

"_Oh…yeah he said that he was going to work on one of his properties, I believe he wanted something to smash" Penelope said. _

"_I know how he feels," Spencer said "I wanted to smash something at my own apartment when I went home…" _

_Penelope sighed and leaned her head on Spencer's shoulder. _

"_I can't believe we'll never get to see her again…" she said a single tear slipping down her face. _

_Spencer leaned over and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. _

_Penelope looked up at him, their eyes catching as he removed his hand. _

_Spencer felt Penelope moving closer to him and he found he couldn't move away. _

_Their lips met. _

"_This is wrong" Spencer said but he didn't move away more than an inch. _

"_I know," Penelope whispered as their lips brushed again. _

"_It's called transference…" Spencer tried again. _

"_I don't care what it's called" Penelope said, her hand drifting into his hair. _

"_What about our jobs?" _

"_We can think about that later…" _

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" _

_Penelope pulled away "Spencer," she said "I feel really alone right now…and I need you." _

_Spencer knew that those weren't ideal reasons and that he might regret it in the morning, but just then, he couldn't say no. _

_The next morning came and they didn't regret it. They didn't find it awkward. They were weirdly at ease with the whole situation. _

_They both equally felt that being together was something that they both had needed. _

_So they decided to go steady and see how things worked out. _

"Tonight's the big night huh?"

Spencer was pulled out of his reprieve by Emily walking into the break room.

He smiled up at her.

It had only been a few weeks since they found out that she hadn't actually died but things were already starting to get back to normal and Spencer, for one, couldn't be happier.

"Yeah," he said "It was that easy to tell?"

"Well other than the fact I already knew, you are blankly staring ahead of you with your fingers tapping on the table, it's kind of a dead giveaway."

Spencer laughed "I guess I was lost in thought."

"You might want to try to act normal unless you want everyone else finding out before PG," Emily said "I know Morgan just got in and I'm sure he'll be making an appearance for coffee soon."

"Right, thanks," Spencer said, taking a sip of his own now lukewarm coffee.

Emily was the only one he had told about his plans to propose to Penelope. They had been at McNally's pub across the street waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive, when Emily had come right out and asked him about Penelope.

The couple's relationship wasn't a secret, though they didn't flaunt it at work, and he guessed no one had gotten around to telling Emily.

He had told her the truth and she had congratulated him.

Then, since he had been looking at engagement rings for weeks and he really needed a woman's advice, he told her about the engagement.

She had been shocked at first since she had no idea that they were so serious, but once she got over her shock she was ecstatic and went over all the details with him until the rest of the team had arrived.

"You nervous?" Emily asked him as she poured herself some coffee.

"How could I not be?" Spencer replied, his fingers unconsciously running over the small box in the breast pocket of his shirt.

Emily smiled softly "Don't be. There's no way in hell she's going to say no."

Her words reassured him as he knew they were true but he was still nervous.

"Morning" Morgan said walking into the break room and effectively ending their conversation.

…

That night as Spencer and Penelope made their way home, Spencer could feel an excited tension building up in his chest.

He had planned a special Valentine's Day dinner, had bought Penelope a bouquet of a dozen red roses and had the perfect plan of how to propose running through his head.

Dinner was nice; the conversation was light and enjoyable as always. Even though Spencer was nervous, he still felt as comfortable as he ever did around Penelope; it was just something she brought out in him.

"What are we going to do now?" Penelope asked as Spencer cleaned up the dinner dishes.

"Well I thought we could watch Lady and the Tramp, if that's alright with you?" Spencer said.

Penelope squealed "That's the perfect movie to watch on Valentine's Day, I'll go set it up."

"Okay, I'll get the popcorn and be right there" Spencer stated.

Penelope grinned and hurried to the living room.

Spencer put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and took a deep breath.

This was it, this was the moment he had been planning for weeks, he hoped everything went as planned.

Spencer walked into the living room, a bowl of popcorn in hand, just as Penelope was sitting down. He came and sat beside her, placing the popcorn on the coffee table.

Penelope grinned and snuggled into his side as the previews came up on the screen.

"Oh…" Spencer muttered just as the preview for 101 Dalmatians began "I almost forgot," after pretending to search through his pockets, Spencer pulled out a small box of conversation hearts that he had gotten specially ordered "I got these for you."

Penelope smiled as she took them from him "I love these," she said "thank you."

"You're welcome," Spencer said.

Penelope opened the box and offered it to him; Spencer took one out and looked down at it.

"What does yours say?" Penelope asked.

"Marry me?" he said.

Penelope laughed, she looked down at her own and her laughter stopped. Hers also said 'Marry me?' she wondered if it was just coincidence.

Spencer moved closer, pulling out the engagement ring from his shirt pocket as he did so "Will you?" he asked, holding it up to her.

Penelope gasped "Oh Spencer…Oh my gosh…Spencer!" she shrieked as it finally sunk in "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes I will marry you!"

Spencer grinned as she planted a kiss on his lips.

He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. It had a silver band and a pink heart shaped diamond. Emily had helped him pick it out and they had both agreed it suited Penelope to a T.

Penelope stared down at her hand "I love it…" she looked back up at Spencer "I love you."

…

As they crawled into bed that night Penelope grabbed something from the nightstand drawer and handed it to him.

"What's this?" Spencer asked.

"You'll have to open it to see" she said with an anxious smile.

Spencer looked down at the envelope in his hands. It was red, it had his name drawn in pink and it was decorated with what had to be close to a hundred tiny hand-drawn hearts.

He gently broke the seal and pulled out a small sheet of photo paper.

Curiously Spencer turned it around and his eyes widened. He stared at the photo for a long moment

"Is this…" he began.

"Yes" Penelope said biting her lip.

"You're…" he continued, having a bit of trouble getting his words in order.

"Pregnant, six weeks" Penelope stated.

"Oh wow…" Spencer said letting out a deep breath.

"Wow?" Penelope asked.

Spencer stared at the sonogram, which at the moment looked like a little tadpole; he could just see its little arms and legs forming.

He looked up at Penelope; she had a nervous look on her face.

"Oh my god," he said finally snapping out of it "Penelope this is…this is amazing. We…we're going to be parents."

"Yeah, we are" Penelope said breaking out into a smile.

"I love you so much" Spencer said, he leaned forward and kissed her soundly.

Penelope moaned and kissed him back, pulling him down on the bed.

"This. Was. The best. Valentine's Day. Ever" Spencer said kissing her between words.

Penelope had to agree.

…

**A/N: So, hope you all liked it. Here's a question: Should Penelope and Spencer have a boy or a girl? **

**I'd like to know what you think. **

**Oh and there's one more chapter to go. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't Own. **

**Please R&R **

**Enjoy! **

…

Spencer wasn't sure what had woken him up but something just didn't seem right. His eyes scanned the room before he rolled over and found that the other side of the bed was empty.

The room was still dark and there was no light coming from the bathroom.

"Penelope?" he called out.

She didn't answer.

He hurried to get out of bed and pull on a pair of boxers that were lying on the floor. He made his way out into the hall and found Penelope in the kitchen. She was leaning over the sink with one hand on her very pregnant belly and the other one rubbing her lower back.

"Penelope?" Spencer questioned walking over to her "Are you alright?"

Penelope was 35 weeks pregnant; she was almost in her 9th month and Spencer, like any soon to be dad, worried about her.

She groaned softly as she ran a hand down her belly "It seems as though the little one can't get comfortable, she's been kicking me all night."

Spencer placed his hand on her belly and felt the movement beneath his fingers "Are you sure that's everything?" He knew that the baby moved around a lot but it never seemed to bother Penelope so much that she was unable to sleep.

"Well I have a bit of pain in my back but I'm okay" Penelope stated.

"You're sure?" Spencer asked "We could call the doctor if you want."

"Spencer I'm fine," Penelope said "I'm sure it's just because I overworked myself yesterday."

Spencer shook his head "Penelope you promised Hotch and me that you would take it easy if he let you continue working. Maybe it's time you went on maternity leave, you should…"

"No," Penelope said cutting him off "I can't leave yet, I'll be super bored at home and you guys need me. Plus you know all I would do is worry about you if I couldn't work on the case."

"You already worry about me" Spencer said.

"Yeah but I'd worry more" Penelope said.

Spencer sighed "Well at least would you consider letting another tech handle the other teams you work with?"

Penelope looked like she was going to protest.

"Just until the baby is born," Spencer said and then added when she still looked unconvinced "for me, it would put my mind at ease knowing that you're not stressing yourself out."

"Okay fine" Penelope mumbled.

Spencer leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss "Thank you," he said caressing her cheek.

Penelope leaned into the touch.

"Now how about we make our way back to bed and I'll give you a back rub until you fall asleep?" Spencer asked.

"Mhmm, that sounds nice" Penelope said.

"Good," Spencer said as he led her back to bed. She lay down on her side and Spencer lay down behind her. Then he started gently working on the muscles of her lower back.

Penelope hummed in delight as her tight muscles began to loosen.

"Better?" Spencer asked.

"Uh huh," was Penelope's quiet response and soon Spencer felt her drift off to sleep.

Spencer's hand moved over her tummy and he held her gently. As he fell asleep he could feel their daughter kicking under his hand.

…

Only an hour later, around six am, his cell phone started buzzing. Spencer sleepily reached out for it on the night stand.

"Reid" he said picking up.

"Hey Reid, it's JJ, we've got a case."

Spencer almost groaned "Okay," he said "I'm on my way."

When he hung up the phone he turned to see that Penelope had woken up.

"You should go back to sleep, I can have JJ send the file to your tablet and that way you can get a few more hours of sleep and show up a little later." Spencer suggested.

Penelope thought it over for a moment, she wanted to say no that she just needed a minute and she'd be ready but she was dead tired and annoyingly the ache in her back had returned.

"Okay," she mumbled.

Spencer smiled, normally things were never that easy with Penelope, she was just too stubborn.

He placed a kiss on her forehead "I'll call you as soon as I know where we are headed. Love you."

"I love you too," Penelope said leaning up to kiss him "be safe."

"I always am," he said "and you make sure you don't overwork yourself."

Penelope smiled at the concern in his voice "Of course."

Spencer smiled again before leaning down and placing a kiss on her belly "And you, try not to kick your momma so much, she needs her sleep."

Penelope grinned as she watched Spencer softly caress her tummy; she knew he was going to make the best dad.

"Okay, got to go, talk to you later" Spencer said grabbing some clean clothes and making his way to the bathroom to have a quick shower.

Penelope went back to sleep.

…

"I don't know," Rossi said "something about this just doesn't seem right."

"I know what you mean," Hotch added "we profiled that the unsub would have a large vehicle in order to transport the bodies but with police stationed at every entrance and no back trails leading up to the cemetery, how is this guy getting in without being seen?"

The team was working on a local case that was just a forty minute drive from the BAU.

The unsub was leaving bodies in freshly dug graves at Quantico National Cemetery.

"Wait guys," Spencer said an idea dawning on him "maybe he hasn't been seen because he doesn't stick out. What large vehicle would go unnoticed in a cemetery?"

"A hearse" Emily answered.

"Exactly," Spencer said "Nobody would think twice if a hearse pulled into the cemetery."

"Still, even if it was a hearse the police would be suspicious if it pulled up at night, that wouldn't make any sense" Rossi pointed out.

"But maybe he's not bringing the bodies in at night. We just assumed that because the bodies were found in the morning. Maybe he brings them in during the day and comes back at night to dump them."

Hotch pulled out his cellphone, hit speed dial and put it on speaker.

"Goddess at your service" Penelope said as she picked up the phone.

"Garcia," Hotch said "I need you to look for records of registered and non-registered hearses in the Quantico area."

"Got it…" Penelope said and they could hear her fingers furiously typing away at her keyboard.

"Then cross-reference that with a list of men in their twenties to thirties, who have recently suffered a loss of a loved one."

"You think that's why he's dumping the bodies in the graves?" JJ asked.

"The bodies were found gently placed in the grave on their backs with their hands at their sides. He wouldn't have taken the time to place the bodies like that with a heavy police presence around if it wasn't extremely important to him." Hotch explained "I think he is trying to recreate someone's funeral."

"What the...?" Penelope voice trailed off and they heard the typing on the other end stop.

"What is it?" Hotch asked "Did you find anything."

There was no response.

"Garcia?" Hotch prompted.

The team looked around at each other questioningly.

"Penelope?" Spencer piped up worriedly.

"I think…" Penelope began "my water just broke."

The team was shocked into silence.

Then the spell that they were seemingly under broke as Spencer choked out a "What? Are you sure?"

"Uh…yeah" Penelope answered.

With that Hotch took over "Okay Garcia I want you to stop what you're doing and get one of the available agents to drive you to the hospital."

"But Sir," Penelope said "I haven't finished the search yet, you guys still need…"

"Don't argue with me Garcia. It's important you get to the hospital. I'll get another tech analyst to help with the case."

"I…" Penelope began to protest but then stopped herself "Yes Sir."

Hotch turned to Spencer "The hospital isn't far from here; it should only take half an hour to get there. If you leave now you should make it for the birth with some time to spare."

Spencer didn't respond and Hotch frowned when he took in the panicked look on his face.

"On the other hand, maybe you shouldn't be driving."

Hotch looked around at his team. "Prentiss," he said "can you drive Reid to the hospital? The rest of us will stay here and finish with the case."

"Of course," Emily said, she grabbed her coat and pushed Spencer in the direction of the door. "Don't worry PG; I'll have your baby daddy there in no time."

"Safe driving," Hotch said "and call us when you get there."

Once they were in the car and turning out of the police station's parking lot, Emily looked over at Spencer who still hadn't said more than a few words "You okay?"

Spencer had been blankly staring out at the road ahead of him; at her question he shook his head vigorously.

"This can't be happening" he muttered.

Puzzled Emily frowned at him. She knew that even though Spencer was a bit frightened about the prospect of being a father, he was also very excited. Once he found out about the baby it was practically all he could talk about. He hand read everything he could get his hands on about pregnancy, childbirth and taking care of a baby, as well as a few books about baby names. So the way he was acting now didn't make any sense.

"It's too soon," he continued "this wasn't supposed to happen yet. The due date isn't for four more weeks. It's too early for her to be born."

"Ah…" Emily said in understanding, his behavior made sense now; he was scared for the baby's safety.

"Spencer…"

He cut her off "Do you know what the complications of a baby being born this early are?"

He didn't give her a chance to answer.

"The lungs haven't fully developed yet and babies born now are six times more likely to die in the first week. They are more prone to have learning disabilities and behavior problems. Their…"

Spencer was sprouting out statistics like he was sitting there reading from a book.

"Reid." Emily said gently and then more forcefully when he still didn't stop "Reid stop!"

Spencer's mouth clamped shut; he frowned and turned to look at her.

"I know that babies born after thirty four weeks have a ninety percent survival rate, Penelope is one day short of being 36 weeks. Sure it would have been nice to go full term but your baby is going to be fine. You two have been doing everything right; the baby is healthy and on track and right now Penelope is with doctors and nurses who know what they are doing because they've done it a million times before. Everything will be fine."

"How can you be so sure?" Spencer asked.

"Because I have faith that everything is going to be alright and I have trust in the doctors and medicine. Now we just need to worry about getting you to Penelope. She's probably more scared than you are and she doesn't need you filling her head with doubts and statistics. Penelope's in labor, you can't stop it but you can be there for her."

Spencer ran a hand through his hair "You're right."

Emily nodded "Are you gonna be okay now?"

"Yeah." he said "…I'm about to be a father."

"Yes you are," Emily stated "now let's get you to that hospital."

…

"Penelope!" Spencer called as he rushed into her hospital room which a nurse at the front desk had directed him to. Emily had told him to go ahead of her since she still had to call the team.

Penelope let out a relieved sigh when she saw him "I'm so glad you're here."

Spencer hurried to her side and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently on the forehead.

Penelope relaxed into his embrace until she felt pains start to build up in her abdomen.

She tensed up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Contraction" she huffed out, trying to focus on her breathing.

Spencer held her hand as she groaned in pain.

She squeezed her eyes shut as her whole stomach cramped, using her freehand she tried to rub her stomach soothingly.

"Ugh…" Penelope groaned as the pain from the contraction faded away "they do their best to prepare you for this, but damn it those hurt."

"Is there anything I can get you?" Spencer asked.

"No, I'm okay," Penelope answered "just don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere" he promised squeezing her hand.

"Other than the contractions are you okay?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Penelope said "the doctor said the baby's vitals look good too. They did a few tests when I got here and they said the baby's heartbeat is strong. They think that even though she's coming a bit early, she's going to be okay."

"That's a relief," Spencer said giving her a reassuring smile.

"Where's Emily?" Penelope asked.

"She's outside calling the team" Reid answered.

"Have you asked her yet?" Penelope wondered.

Spencer looked confused for a moment before he remembered what she was talking about "No I haven't, I thought we agreed to do that together."

As if on cue Emily appeared at the door, she smiled at the couple and walked into the room.

"Hey Pen," She said "how are you doing?"

"Good," Penelope said "Tired but good."

"Well I just talked to Hotch, they've gotten another tech to help them with the case and they hope they will be finished up soon. However Hotch wants me back if you guys don't need me."

"Oh yeah if the team needs you don't worry about us, we'll be fine" Penelope said.

"Good," Emily said before leaning down to give Penelope a hug "I can't wait to get back and see the baby. I know you'll do great Pen."

"Thanks," Penelope said and watched as Emily turned to leave. "Em, before you leave…"

Emily turned back around "Yeah?"

"Spencer and I had something we wanted to ask you" Penelope said.

"Oh?" Emily asked.

Penelope nudged Spencer with her elbow.

"Um yeah, we wanted to know if you'd be our baby's godmother?" Spencer asked.

Emily's eyes widened "Seriously?" Then a wide smile broke out on her face "Yeah definitely, oh guys this means so much to me."

She walked back over to them and gave a hug to both Spencer and Penelope.

"I promise that I'll be the best godmother that I can" Emily said.

"We know you're going to be great" Penelope said.

Emily started to make her way towards the door again "Okay I better get back…" she trailed off "Wait, can I ask, who's the godfather?"

"I'll give you three guesses" Penelope said with a grin.

"Morgan?" Emily guessed.

"Oh look at those expert profile skills, you didn't even need the two extra guesses" Penelope said with a laugh.

"Have you told him yet?" Emily asked, laughing too.

"Not yet, we were going to sometime this week after the case, but I guess it will have to wait until the baby's born." Spencer explained.

"Okay, well I'll keep my lips sealed," Emily said "I'll see you guys soon, good luck."

…

Six hours later Penelope was frustrated and grumpy. She was in a lot of pain because the contractions were so bad. She had tried standing and squatting and just about every other position she could think of to help ease the pain but nothing worked.

She had had an epidural but most of the pain was still getting through and she couldn't move around much anymore because her legs were starting to get numb.

Spencer was just trying to be as supportive as he could and help Penelope keep calm.

So far she hadn't yelled at him for knocking her up in the first place, and was thankful for that.

However he hated to see her in pain and therefore was relieved when after a rather painful contraction one of the nurses had paged the doctor and told Penelope it was time to start pushing.

Penelope turned to look at him and her face showed her fear.

He took her hand in hers and looked deeply into her eyes "You're going to be fine," he said gently "you can do this, everything will be okay."

Penelope nodded and let out a shaky breath.

The doctor came in and sat down on a stool before Penelope's open legs. "The baby's head is crowning, you have to push now Penelope."

Penelope pushed down, letting out a guttural growl as she did so.

"That's it, good job," the doctor said "now take a deep breath and push again."

Penelope breathed deeply and then bore down with all her might, squeezing Spencer's hand as she did so.

"Good, good, she's almost out, one more push should do it."

Penelope watched as a nurse came over with an instrument to clear out the baby's mouth and nose of any excess fluid.

Penelope took a deep breath again and the pushed down once more.

They heard a whooshing sound and then their daughter's first cries as she came into the world.

"Here you go; you have a beautiful baby girl."

The doctor placed her on Penelope's stomach and the nurses began cleaning the baby off. She was crying loudly and her hands were stretching out before her with her tiny pink fingers flexing, Spencer had never seen anything quite like it.

Penelope had started crying tears of joy as she looked at her little daughter while the nurses worked to clean her off and preform necessary tests on her.

"Would you like to do this part?" Spencer tore his eyes away from his daughter when the doctor spoke to him. She was holding out scissors and had the umbilical cord clamped.

He took the scissors from her shakily and then steadied himself before cutting where the doctor indicated.

His brain vaguely realized when his daughter stopped crying. He looked up to see that the nurses had finished their tests and that she was now wrapped up in a pink blanket and laying I her mother's arms.

He smiled at Penelope and moved closer to her, the baby was blinking up at her and reaching out for her momma.

"Everything seems fine," the doctor said "we were worried about her lungs being fully developed but as you could hear she's seems to have no problem getting her lungs full of oxygen. Her breathing is good and her heartbeat is strong. We'll leave you so you can bond with her for a bit before we take her to the nursery."

"Thank you," Spencer said.

The doctor nodded and then she and most of the nurses left.

"She's so beautiful," Penelope whispered.

"Just like her momma" Spencer said.

Penelope chuckled and leaned up to give him a quick kiss.

Spencer couldn't believe just how tiny and amazing she was, he couldn't believe that he was actually a father and that she was finally here.

"What are we going to call her?" Penelope asked, interrupting his thoughts.

…

Spencer was quietly sitting beside Penelope's bed; his thoughts were in a jumble as he thought about what had happened in the last 8 hours and what it was going to be like from then on.

The nurses had taken their daughter to the nursery an hour or so ago and Penelope was getting some much needed sleep.

He looked up when he heard a noise and saw one of their nurses coming back; she was wheeling their daughter into the room.

"Hey," she said quietly when she noticed Penelope was asleep "Mom's pretty exhausted huh?"

Spencer got up from his chair and walked over "Yeah."

The nurse smiled "We've run all of the mandatory tests, your daughter is a healthy baby girl, she's just a bit on the small side but that should right itself in a few weeks. She's five pounds and seven ounces.

"Can I hold her?" Spencer asked.

"Of course" the nurse said.

Spencer picked up his daughter gently.

"I'll leave you alone; just press the call button if you need anything."

"Thanks," Spencer said as the nurse left.

Spencer stood and just stared at his little girl. She looked so much like Penelope but she had his lips.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered to her quietly.

He carried her over to his chair and sat down.

As he did so she began to wake up.

She whimpered but Spencer held her close and told her gently not to cry.

His soothing voice seemed to work because she didn't cry, but blinked up at him instead.

She had his brown eyes.

"Hey you," Spencer said awed "I'm your Daddy. Your Mommy is sleeping right now but she's going to be so excited to see you when she wakes up."

Spencer continued to talk to her for the next twenty minutes as she just stared up at him.

He told her about the team and how he knew they would just love her. About her chosen godparents but how the rest of the team were just as close. He told her about how he and Penelope would always do their best to take care of her and how happy he was that she was here.

After a while he felt eyes on him and looked over to see Penelope had woken up.

She smiled at him "You're going to make the best dad Spencer."

Spencer carefully stood up; he moved towards her and placed their daughter in her arms. "And you're going to make the best mom Penelope."

Then there was a soft knock at the open door and they turned to see Hotch and the rest of the team standing in the hallway.

"I hope we're not interrupting" he said.

"No, of course not," Spencer said "come on in guys."

The team walked in and Emily and JJ hurried over to Penelope's side.

"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!" Emily excitedly whispered.

Penelope grinned "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Deegan Diana Reid."

"Oh that's perfect!" JJ said.

Morgan inched closer to Reid as he took in the little pink bundle. He patted Spencer on the shoulder "Congrats guys, she's adorable."

Penelope beamed at them "She is, isn't she."

"Oh Hey," Morgan said "I almost forgot. We saw this in the gift shop and thought it would be perfect."

He handed Spencer a small folded up onesie.

Spencer unfolded it and then laughed; he turned it around so that Penelope could see. It was white with black lettering that read 'FBI Agent in training.'

"That's great," Spencer said "Thanks."

For the rest of the day they laughed and talked about what mischief little Deegan was going to get into and how her new parents were going to handle it.

Each of the team got a chance to hold her and everyone was surprised when she seemed to like Rossi the best, she didn't cry or squirm once when he was holding her.

Then after a long day the team left with promises of coming back the next day, they knew Penelope needed her rest.

Spencer smiled down at Penelope and his little girl who was in her mother's arms. He couldn't remember a time where he felt happier and couldn't wait to begin his life with his two girls.

He felt like the luckiest man on the planet.

**The End**

…

A/N: Yeah, I decided to go with a girl because as dustytiger said in her review 'there's nothing like a guy and his daughter' I just liked the idea of them having a girl.

I got the statistics from the article **"Born a Bit Too Early – Recent Trends in Late Pre-Term Births," **on (sonomafamilylife . com)


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